Summer outlook: This is the first time BYU will make the trip to Berkeley to face the Golden Bears. Cal was No. 122 in scoring defense and total defense last season, giving up 529.6 yards and 45.9 points per game. Even though this is just head coach Sonny Dykes' second season, he has to be feeling the heat after winning just one game last season, and Cal athletic director Sandy Barbour stepped down just last week. Dykes must know that he needs wins, and he needs them now. At least the Golden Bears get DE Brenn Scarlet back after he missed 2013 with a nasty hand injury and infection. QB Jared Goff is no slouch, either. Goff passed for 3,508 yards and 18 touchdowns as a freshman last season. Expect a much-improved Cal squad this fall. This will not be an easy season finale on the road for the Cougars.

Nice summary of the season, but Nevada coach Chris Ault retired on Dec. 31,
2012. Brian Polian coached them last year in 2013. He was on the sidelines when
we played them last year. This is not their first season with out Chris Ault.
It's not hard to look it up.

A defense that is not rebuilding, but retooled and ready to
destroy;An offensive line that has matured, conditioned and synced up with
each other;Special teams that are solid and reliable;Receivers that
can make fans, and defensive backs, heads' turn.

Missing any one
of those, even for one game, would be extremely costly.

@ Clovis,Here is another thing that is not hard to look up, the teams on
BYU's schedule had a combined record of 10 games under .500 last year,
71-81.

So, when the cougars win 10 games against this
"stellar" competition, their fans will be clamoring for them to be
considered relevant in the national scene. They will claim we belong in a power
conference because we won 10 games this year. Nice try.

Looks like 8 to 10 wins and a lot of hoopla about national rankings. A
realistic assessment is the schedule is very weak. UVA and Cal are possibly the
worst teams in their conferences but there will be lots of bragging about
beating teams from the Big 5 leagues. Big step back in competition this year.
Future schedules look better but hard to get excited about MTSU, Savannah St,
and UConn.

@CougFaninTX - "Lucky for U, U don't play them (Cal) so we may not
every know if they are the worst team in the PAC this year."

It's actually very unlucky that we don't play them this year, or
last year. We could have really used the absolute worst team in the Pac (0-9
1-11) to add an easy Pac12 win to our record and get to a bowl game. Only
difference is we wouldn't be thumping our chests over beating such a
terrible opponent, much like I expect all you coug fans to do this fall.

"Looking forward to revenge at Virginia and showing PAC fans how
much better a "mid major" team is than a team in the lower half of the
PAC."

First of all, Virginia isn't part of the
"PAC". They are the absolutely worst team in the ACC. BYU proved what
they could do against the Pac. They got handled by the 6th place and the 10th
placed teams. This year your only try against a " PAC" team is against
our absolute worst. So, all you cougies will have a chance to prove against the
Pac12 this year is if your mid major team is better than our absolute worst.
Good luck. You'll need it.

BYU has a SOS on par with the Ohio States and Alabama of the
world. Besides the SOS is very similar to that of Utah in 2008 where they faced
Bama playing for third place. They win 12 and they deserve to be in the
playoff. They lose one and they get into a New Year bowl.

The great
thing about BYU's schedule is that BYU plays such a variety of opponents
that they will have comparative scores to look at besides the likely gaudy stats
to stake their claim.

Utah alumnus, "State of Utah fan". Get real, people. I love BYU
football and have for 30 years but this move to Independent status was
bone-headed. One traditional rivalry is firmly in place (Utah State). Look for
Southern Utah State to join Weber State as an in-state main-stay. I say this as
someone who loves Utah and BYU football - this move was a disaster and will not
ever been what CougarNation hopes it will be. Sorry, I wish it weren't
true.

Steven S Jarvis "win 12 and they deserve to be in the playoff"I
like how you casually put BYU on par with Ohio State and Alabama. You are a
true fan. The problem is "they" are not fans. Especially in the
inaugural year, it is highly unlikely that "they" will give one of the
playoff spots to a non-P5 team. Remember, it is not based on rank. A committee
looks at several factors, including SoS, and championships won.

Nobody will blink when a one loss OSU/Mama/Major team is taken over a perfect
mid-major. Fair? Maybe. Maybe not. It wouldn't surprise me to see a 2
loss major earn a spot over a perfect mid-major. They'd placate the
"injustice" by tossing a New Year's Bowl to the mid-major. Fiesta
Bowl stickers are a great Band-Aid.

I don't think BYU (or any
mid-major) will earn a playoff spot for a couple of years. IMO, BYU has to go
perfect this year to earn a New Year's bowl -- provided there is not a
higher ranked non-P5 school. One loss = Miami Bowl, but at least you can lock
in travel plans early!

Its a dreadful home schedule. Hopefully as time goes on BYU can win more big
games and earn the respect that Bronco feels they are entitled too. The only
thing more pathetic then BYU's home schedule is UTE fans with PAC12
stickers on their cars fixated on BYU's schedule.

This year's schedule is weak. Anything under 10 wins would be
disappointing. It seems we have taken a step back in scheduling w Texas being
one of the only exciting big 5 teams on the schedule. The combined records of
their opponents are awful. I am being negative but if we want to be in the
conversation for a new year's bowl, we need to play top tier competition.
This looks like a mountain west schedule w different teams.

My recollection of the Golden Bears last season is that their home opener
against the Portland State Vikings was closer than it should have been,
considering that the Vikings are a perrenial doormat in the Big Sky Conference.